Education Program Director at Earth Rangers

Position Title: Education Program Director

Duration: Permanent full-time

Start date: Immediately

About Earth Rangers:

Earth Rangers is the kids' conservation organization, committed to instilling environmental knowledge, positivity, and the confidence to take action in every child in Canada. We do this through a suite of free programming that children can participate in at school, at home, and in their communities. All of these programs are educational and engaging - but more importantly, they show children that it's not too late to help the planet, and the things we do today will matter tomorrow.

Founded as a small community organization in 2004, we have since grown to have the largest membership base of any conservation organization in Canada. Our more than 200,000 members, aged 6-12, have each made a commitment to do their part to protect animals and their homes.

The Earth Rangers School Assembly is an exciting and captivating school-wide presentation complete with live animals, interactive games, compelling videos, and two enthusiastic presenters who have environmental science backgrounds and the ability to explain complex environmental issues in a way kids can understand. The program is delivered in 800+ schools across Canada annually and reaches over 250,000 students, making it one of our most important ways of connecting with children and encouraging them to become Earth Rangers Members.

School Program Expansion

Despite the School Assembly Program's extensive reach, it is largely a one-off experience which has limited long-term impact in schools. In order to address this shortcoming, Earth Rangers commissioned a study last year, with the goal of developing a strategy to:

• Deepen our impact by encouraging schools to engage with Earth Rangers beyond the day of the School Assembly
• Allow us to engage with schools that we cannot visit in person
• Provide value to teachers
• Provide enhanced learning opportunities for students
• Provide opportunities for students to take meaningful and measurable actions to protect animals and the environment in school

Based on findings from the study, we added pre and post assembly education materials to this year's program, which teachers can access through our website. We have also developed a new Clubs program, which is currently piloting in 20+ schools across the country.

The Education Program Director will be responsible for evaluating this pilot and transitioning it into an ongoing program that is to be made widely available to schools across Canada. The position is also responsible for the annual development of the pre and post assembly lessons.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Evaluate the existing Clubs Program pilot, make adjustments as needed and prepare for full national launch in September 2019
• Recruit and manage any required staff and/or consultants
• Lead the development of all program materials such as educational and curriculum linked materials, website content for educators, marketing pieces, and an e-newsletter
• Monitor program's progress and report regularly on results
• Manage the program's budget
• Develop and implement a marketing and communications plan to promote the program to teachers
• Work with President to establish long term goals for the Program
• Explore partnership opportunities with other relevant organizations working in schools
• Lead, manage and grow our newly established Teacher Advisory Committee
• Develop and evaluate the pre and post assembly lessons annually
• Act as a resource to the Membership Team by reviewing and providing advice for the development of their home-based Missions.

Desired Skills and Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor Degree in Education or a related field. A science/environmental background is also preferred, but not mandatory
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience managing education programs that support teachers in the formal education system or direct experience teaching or education related role
• Experience with the formal education system and developing and managing supporting programs
• Experience with and passionate for environmental and conservation education
• Good understanding of curriculum requirements for elementary aged school children across Canada
• Experience working with educators and facilitating teacher workshops or webinars Good problem solving skills and the ability to think strategically
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and some experience with academic and professional writing
• Demonstrated ability to effectively lead and collaborate on cross-functional and multi-disciplinary teams, multi-tasking and establishing priorities and meeting deadlines with minimal direction
• Some experience in not for profit preferred
• Ability to think strategically, set annual priorities and develop work plans to reach established key performance indicators and report to multiple audiences on progress
• Ability to work irregular hours to meet the needs of classroom teachers

-Earth Rangers is dedicated to fostering a diverse work environment. We will consider all qualified applicants for employment. Applicants that meet the qualifications will be contacted for an interview.

-Earth Rangers is committed to accommodating applicants and employees with disabilities. Should you require accommodation or this job description to be available in an accessible format, please advise.

Job Type: Full-time